


cat contradictory

by markleeder



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Gen, NCT Dream - Freeform, a very human!jaemin, because how long can you really avoid writing a cat hybrid au, cat hybrid au, cat!Mark, markmin, not very long
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-11
Updated: 2016-09-11
Packaged: 2018-08-14 10:04:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,835
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8009332
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/markleeder/pseuds/markleeder
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>in which Mark is an indifferent kitty but not really</p>
            </blockquote>





	cat contradictory

**Author's Note:**

> i. the boys are 16-17 y/o in the stories which i have failed to mention anywhere lol  
> ii. also i do not own any pets, have never owned any pets so to all you cat people, i sincerely apologise and ask to be forgiven omg  
> iii. it seems cats like you if they're always in vicinity, sleep around you with some kind of contact if they're not already curling on top of you, if they show you their tummies, if they headbutt you and also if they bring you gifts (dead game ala rats)
> 
> -

-

 

Mark’s room is empty when Jaemin quietly slips in and shuts the door behind himself. He looks over at the window which, as expected, is open. He walks over and finds Mark, sitting elegantly on the branch of a tree in their front yard. It’s a very normal thing now because when Mark finds the house stuffy, he wants out and wants to be where he can have eyes on everything.

He waits there sometimes, for Hansol to get home. His dark tail swishes from side to side and ears tremble, shifting towards the slightest sounds. He stretches a little and before Jaemin can make himself known, he’s been found out.

“What is it?” Mark asks, eyes still trained to the road corner.

Jaemin sighs. It’s his ultimate goal to sneak up on Mark, but he’s been caught again. He’s standing in a narrow gap between Mark’s bed and the window. He leans against the window sill and brings his head out, hoping to get a little attention from Mark who has somehow disciplined himself into a state of aloofness and indifference.

“I have something for you” Jaemin says.

Mark’s head turns, lethargically. Turquoise blue eyes stare into Jaemin’s shiny brown ones. Jaemin finds himself staring back at those dark slits he’s never been afraid of. He notices Mark’s eyes shift to his hand on the sill. There’s only one out.

“What’s behind your back?” he asks

“Come on in and maybe I’ll show you” Jaemin says with a little smile, eyes crinkling at the corners.

Mark makes a low sound of irritation and turns away. He had settled into a comfortable position on the tree branch and no amount of ‘something’ will pique his curiosity enough to make him want to leave his crow’s nest.

“Hyung” Jaemin says, “It’ll be your new favourite thing I promise” a few more times of pleading and Mark is giving in. “Fine. Only because you won’t stop talking or leave me alone” he says. It’s a lie because he wants to play with Jaemin; he just doesn’t know how to show or say it.

“Move over” he says. Jaemin disappears from the window.

Mark dives from the branch, straight for the sill. He lands on one foot and pushes forward, rolling on the bed and coming to a graceful standstill two steps away from Jaemin. Jaemin is so used to Mark’s acrobatics, he isn’t even that surprised anymore.

Jaemin is still a little lost for words because Mark is within arm’s reach for the first time in months. Jaemin takes in the appearance, Mark’s dark cat ears popping out of the jet black hair he often uses to hide the ears, his cute nose and sudden obsession with belt collars; he’s taken to wearing darker clothes, there’s a new ring on his left thumb and he’s barefoot, as usual.

He’s almost never seen Mark wear footwear, he thinks back, expect for in school maybe—

“Hey” Mark snaps a finger in front of his face. Jaemin purses his lips but brings the hand to his front.

Mark’s eyes widen immediately, followed by a rush of heat to his cheeks. His insides churn with excitement. There’s an odd pull at his entire body for the need to have that object in his hands immediately; it’s bright and red and Mark has never seen a thing like it.

It’s a ball of yarn.

Jaemin watches the wonder in Mark’s eyes, the set of canines that show and reaches for the end of the string. It’s too late because whatever adrenaline was driving Mark had sweet talked him into separating the yarn from Jaemin’s hand.

It flies through the room after a harsh swat from Mark.

“Hyung!” Jaemin is slow to react but Mark has dived after it. The ball bounces off the study table, deflects from the wardrobe and rolls back to Jaemin’s feet. He picks it up; it’s opening up slowly and Jaemin doesn’t think that’s a good idea. He forgets that Mark is right behind the yarn at full speed and barely manages to avoid crashing into him.

Mark slides to a halt and changes direction for the ball. There’s mad craving for a ball and Jaemin may or may not be part of that equation. Jaemin’s thinks it’s the latter when Mark breaks into a jog again in that small room, determined for the yarn. “Okay just wait one second—” Jaemin says, keeping the ball away from Mark but that turns out to be useless because the ball is too huge for one hand to keep away.

It slips again, bouncing off the floor, rolling slowly away from him. Jaemin has the end this time and begins winding it close. Mark runs after it and it’s finally in his hands for the first time. He brings it close to his chest and revels in the strange rough feeling. He grins uninhibited, his overjoyed laughter fills the room.

Jaemin stills and watches. For the first time he doesn’t want to talk. He wants to watch Mark abandon his own fort’s wall for a dose of happy outside it. He wants Mark to abandon his own projections of a stereotype that is seemingly distant.

Mark places the ball of yarn between his jaw and shoulder with trembling fingers. It tickles his neck and Mark’s eyes close just as a satisfied grin cuts across his face. The ball slips and falls out of the gap. Jaemin pulls it towards himself and Mark’s eyes follow. The reaction is instantaneous.

Mark leaps at Jaemin.

Jaemin squeals in surprise and falls back, Mark on top of him, ball somewhere in between. They struggle and roll around for the ball of yarn between Mark’s breathless laughter. It’s contagious, Jaemin can’t stop laughing either. Mark wants Jaemin to know, to feel the excitement he feels for the ball because to touch it, to feel it is the best feeling in the world.

So he talks and talks like he had just found his voice and Jaemin listens as they collapse in a heap after stopping the ball of yarn that is now half its original size. Mark quiets down after a while, mood wearing off. No more yarns now; he’s tired of this game. But they’re still on the floor, lying on their backs and still trying to catch their breath.

Jaemin recovers first, sitting up and facing Mark. “Hyung you are so adorable” Jaemin smiles fondly. Mark’s blue eyes are not going to scare him away even if they’re lowkey threatening him to shut up. “I didn’t know you could laugh like that” Jaemin says “I’m glad I waited around to play with you”

“This better not get out this room, you hear me?” Mark says “what happens in the room, stays in the room”

“Oh no” Jaemin’s evil grin means he's up to no good “I’m going to announce it to the entire neighbourhood. Speaking of which, there is a loudspeaker in the basement—”

Marks reaches for him, ready to catch him but gets stuck halfway.

“We’re tangled” Mark sighs loudly “What a pain”. There’s half a ball’s worth of string around them, all knotted around their limbs. They get out of the few strings around their feet but the hands are a mess. “We need dad to cut through this one with a scissors” Jaemin mutters, displeased with the idea.

When he’s not thinking of strings, he’s regressing back into the minutes where Mark was full of laughter. He can’t stop himself from complimenting Mark. “Hyung can’t we laugh like that again? Together?”

Mark is not going to admit how actually taken he was with a stupid ball of yarn. He’s slipped back into his stoic, non-sociable kitty personality but he’s not going to walk all over Jaemin’s hopeful question. Neither is he going to answer anyway.

He just rotates his forearm to a non-painful position. His hand faces Jaemin’s now so he subtly slips his fingers into the gaps between Jaemin’s. He edges closer, looking at Jaemin’s confusion and bops his forehead against Jaemin’s.

Jaemin’s cheeks change colour as he realises what Mark means. Jaemin feels a little silly, tangled in a mess of threads but he’s smiling and shaking his head just as Mark breaks into a satisfied smile. Jaemin hides his face in Mark’s chest. Mark’s brings a free hand around to pat his back, hold him tight in a hug.

“Thank you” he says, caressing the hair on the back of Jaemin’s neck.

“Damn I wish I was there to see you discover that blanket” Jaemin mumbles.

“What blanket?” Mark stops, wondering “What blanket?” he pulls Jaemin away by the shoulder to look at him.

“Wait you mean you haven’t slept in your box for more than 3 weeks now?” Jaemin’s eyes widen, then he’s laughing. Mark’s eyes shift to the underside of his bed. There are two handles to pull out a drawer. It’s pretty small but very comfortable when Mark wants to curl up. He calls it his own shoebox.

“Get up” he says to Jaemin who is still laughing but obliges. They pull out the drawer which rolls out to the floor on little wheels and there it is. A neatly folded white blanket.

Mark reaches out hesitantly and brushes his free hand against it. He retracts it just as quickly and he’s looking at Jaemin with a look of awe because it’s so soft. It’s a strangely love struck look, a giddy feeling of finally having something you’ve always wanted.

Mark let’s himself fall into the box, dragging Jaemin with him because they’re still tied, not to mention Jaemin’s hand is still in Mark’s tight grip. Jaemin lands in an uncomfortable position, blanket in mouth and hears Mark laughing at him. Mark manoeuvers him to a better position beside himself. There’s not enough space for two but with their legs hanging out, there’s enough space to lie side by side.

Mark rubs his cheek across the soft velvety blanket, sighing. The grin on his face looks like a permanent fixture; his eyebrows raise, eyes sew shut and he bursts into a fit of giggles with Jaemin.

“This is so fluffy” Mark says in disbelief.

Jaemin brings a hand to Mark’s cheek but tickles him in the neck. Mark twitches with a little noise of happy protest. Jaemin pulls him close to his chest.

“So are you hyung” he says to Mark who vibrates with bubbling laughter against his chest. “So are you” he says again. Mark looks up at him and shoves him in an uncharacteristically bashful way. It makes Jaemin laugh again.

“You’re cute sometimes, did you know?” he says. “And surprisingly playful”. They’ve forgotten the itch on their stringed forearms.

At this moment, Jaemin only cares about Mark against himself and the low purrs of satisfaction as he brings a hand to the back of Mark’s neck, faces that blinding smile with his own toothy grin and bops his forehead against Mark’s.

 

 

-

/end

-

 

-

**Author's Note:**

> i. i do plan to make this into a full blown chaptered fic ft dad!hansol. so i'll definitely revisit this whenever i have time to.  
> ii. if you don't like to talk here, this is me on [tumblr](http://markleeder.tumblr.com/). go anonymous no problem haha
> 
> plenty love <3
> 
>  
> 
> -


End file.
